o
talk to the natives. In each case he elicited the same information that
Ann had given him. The mention of a governing council seemed to amuse the
savages. Lord and Ann were still conducting their puzzling inquest when
Niaga returned from the village. She said that the council had been
called and would meet within a week.

"There seems to be some difference of opinion," Ann told her coldly,
"between you and your people."

"Yes," Lord added uncertainly, "I've been asking about the council and--"

"But you didn't phrase your question clearly," Niaga put in smoothly.
"We're not quite used to using your words yet with your definitions."
To make her point, she called the same natives whom Ann and Lord had
questioned, and this time, without exception, they reversed their
testimony. Lord was willing to believe the language had caused the
difficulty. Niaga's people were entirely incapable of deception; what
reason would they have had?

* * * * *

From that hour, the clearing was never altogether free of native guests.
They deluged Lord's crew with kindness and entertainment. Lord never left
the ship, day or night, without having Niaga slip up beside him and put
her arm through his. Because Ann Howard had made her objections so clear,
the native women, in an effort to please the teacher, had taken to wearing
more clothing than they were accustomed to. But they rejected the sack-like
plastics which Ann dispensed in the schoolroom and put on the mist-like,
pastel-colored netting which they used normally to decorate their homes.
If anything, the addition of clothing made the women more attractive
than ever.

The scientists among Lord's men analyzed the planetary resources and found
the planet unbelievably rich in metals; the botanists determined that the
seeds for the exotic fruits and flowers were exportable. All told, Niaga's
world could develop into the richest franchise in the Federation.

Niaga took Lord to visit the villages which were close to the landing
site. Each town was exactly like its neighbors, a tiny cluster of small,
yellow-walled, flat-roofed houses nestled among the tall trees close to
a cleared farmland which was worked co-operatively by everyone in the
village. No single town was large, yet judging from the number that he
saw, Lord estimated the planetary population in the billions.

Continuously Niaga tried to persuade him to stay and build a colony in
the new world. Lo